9 Things You Should Know About Mike Pence

The Ms. Print believes that, regardless of your political views, involvement, or interest, you need to know a little more about vice president-elect Mike Pence.

You’ve likely heard all sorts of concerns since November about Pence and why he’s the reason we shouldn’t impeach Trump. You may have even seen a comic comparing him to Yzma from Disney’s “The Emperor’s New Groove.” Here are 8 of the actual reasons behind these claims.

1. He tried to illegally cut off government funding to Syrian refugees, and prevent any more from entering his home state of Indiana.

Last year, in light of the Paris attacks, Mike Pence joined a small number of other governors in attempting to keep Syrian refugees out of Indiana until they were able to make sure that “proper security measures were in place.” He never commented on what sort of measures that would include, and people responded with mixed reactions throughout the state. Fortunately, he a judge stopped him when he tried to cut off funding to the refugees already living there by holding back resources from one of the largest immigration support organizations in the state.

2. He thinks that “Mulan” is an example as to why women shouldn’t be in the army.

In 1999, Pence wrote an op-ed to go along with the site for his radio show, claiming that the 1998 Disney movie was the work of some mischievous liberal who “assumes that Mulan’s story will cause a quiet change in the next generation’s attitude about women in combat.” He went on to claim that Mulan and General Shang falling in love in a cartoon romance was reason enough for women not to be in the military, period.That “mischievous liberal” did change my generation’s perspective, and definitely for the better. Besides, the story of Mulan has been around for centuries, and was said to take place somewhere between 386-589 CE. (If you don’t know the original ballad of the incredible warrior, you can read about it and find a translation here.)

And it’s his fault. It’s a musical about immigrants, Mr. Vice President, what did you expect?

4. He opposes most things to do with supporting LGBTQ+ people.

From the 2016 transgender bathroom directive, to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to LGBTQ+ discrimination in the form of “religious freedom,” he’s solidly opposed nearly everything. You can read more about all of these and more here, because I’d like to keep this article as short as I can.

5. Which, by the way, includes funding for AIDS and HIV.

Okay, so he technically didn’t say that he supports electro-shock conversion therapy (a story that started going around when he gained mainstream national attention as Trump’s running mate), but he did call for HIV/AIDS funding to be taken away from groups like the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and funneled into similar conversion groups. “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior,” Pence’s campaign site read during his 2000 campaign for Congress.

6. He actually claims that climate change is fake and ignores the dangers involved.

During the course of the election, one of the many Trump tweets that gained traction was his claim in 2012 that China made up the concept of global warning. A lesser known fact is that, in another op-ed from 2001, Pence basically said the same thing. Not only did he claim that the excessively increasing amounts of CO2 were completely and entirely natural but that the planet has actually been cooling in the past 50 years, both of which are false. He also mixed up India and Indonesia.

7. He wants to restrict options to help women, especially those who are raising children and those who are currently pregnant.

8. He supported eliminating the immediate citizenship granted to the children of undocumented people.

Under section 1 of the 14th amendment, all children born in the US to undocumented immigrant parents are immediately granted citizenship, just like any other child. Pence, however, sponsored a bill during his time in Congress that would essentially eliminate this part of the amendment and replace it with a much stricter version. He claims to have not paid much attention to the subject in recent years, but his work with Trump’s plans against immigration suggest otherwise.

9. And he’s no better than Trump.

Mike Pence has been on the political scene since 2000, giving him 16 years political experience and was already well respected by the GOP a number of years ago, meaning that he knows how to pull most of the things that people have been worrying about with Trump all along. The idea of a Trump administration is terrifying to some, no doubt, but Pence’s political history embodies virtually everything we fear from Trump, just more composed and resourceful in implementing it. If anything, he’s the reason we need to take action and look out for each other in the next four years.

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